Customer Reviews

Live Across America

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have been a jazz fan since the early 90's, and have seen many groups (like the Rippingtons), and soloists (such as Richard Elliott). Ever since my first live experience at Coachman Park in beautiful Clearwater, FL., I have been absolutely hooked on smooth jazz. With that in mind, let me tell you that after the thousands of hours of playing music from the smooth jazz genre, this is the one CD I will always treasure!! It only helps when I see that it is the Rippingtons as the group's name on it.. my absolute favorite group/solo artist in ANY genre. Anybody that has ever been to one of the Rippinton's concerts should absolutely, positively buy this CD! Trust a born enthusiast such as me... you will NOT be disappointed! For those that have never seen, heard of, or been able to go to one of the Rippington's concerts, this CD will definitely blow you away. Gees, I can't wait to get this August's Russ Freeman release!

I second most of the other reviewers that this is a very good Ripp album. Personally, I was sort of getting burned out on the same old CD after CD, but this one is very good indeed. Quality is great, though I would have preferred abit more room ambience be mixed in. Having seen the Ripps several times in concert (my first was with release of "Kilamanjaro"), I found this recording to be quite faithfull to the spirit of the Rippingtons.

Like another reviewer, I did NOT like the addition of "Purple Haze" and "Fire". They played these during their summer tour through Houston last year, and I really couldn't understand why everyone got so excited about their playing these tunes. Of course, Russ is as good as any guitarist past or present, but to retro back to Hendrix didn't impress me. I probably would have preferred to hear him copy some Stevie Ray Vaughn numbers; at least those have a blues background. Russ' version of "Star Spangled Banner" is okay I guess, but no one can do like Jimi did!

But all things considered, this is a great CD!!! Don't hesitate to buy it!!

OK, this is live Rippingtons, right? Well, the first thing I noticed is that the sound quality is phenomenal. There's a new studio track tacked on as the last song, and I couldn't tell the difference between the songs based on the sound. That's a great thing.

Seeing the Rippingtons, there's a lot of extended soloing, etc. There's a taste of that on here - Kim Stone doing a great bass solo, Paul Taylor doing some nice work on sax - but only a taste. One thing I remember from this tour is some good percussion jams on the song "Avenida Del Mar" which is missing on the version here - including this or some other extended percussion/drum set would have earned 5 stars.

The songs are great, and Russ Freeman's guitar work fabulous. "Black Diamond" is a particular highlight, as are "Rain" and "Summer Lovers". One minor fault is that a lot of these songs have some very prominent late 80's-early 90's style keyboard horn hits that do add depth but make the songs sound a little dated. (Very reminiscent of the studio versions, though, which were from that time period.)

The added bonus is the Hendrix medley from the concert tour located at the end of the CD. Kim Stone belts out some vocals on "Purple Haze" and "Fire" and it is so cool to hear Hendrix covered by a jazz band.

So all in all, it's a nice taste of a Rippingtons live show and a somewhat good extension of the studio albums. Great musicianship, with a lot of restraint, and they play great together. A fine album.

Not particularly fond of LIVE ALBUMS...but if you have any doubts, you won't after
listening to tracks like ~ "SHE LIKES TO WATCH"..."JEWEL THIEVES"..."SUMMER
LOVERS"...and Russ Freeman(guitars) turns loose two outstanding musicians in their field
Paul Taylor(sax) and Eric Marienthal(sax)...and those Latin themes "AVENIDA DEL MAR"
and "SOUTH BEACH MAMBO"(love this one to pieces), highlights of staggering
proportions, is the icing on the cake.

If you're a "Rippington Junkie", this is what you crave...don't hesitate, go man go...and be
blown away with this latest from RUSS FREEMAN and THE RIPPINGTONS...and a
special feature the STAR SPANGLED BANNER...gotta love it!

Total Time: 65:43 on 14 Tracks ~ Peak/Concord 8508 ~ (2002)

Live Across America is a pretty good live album by The Rippingtons. It was released in 2002. It's a pretty recent record. Most of the songs on here are good. However, a couple can be a bit too lengthy. Jewel Thieves is the exception. The cd cover is cool/interesting, as is every album produced by The Rippingtons.

My top 3 favorite tracks from this live album are 1,8, and 11. Road Warriors has a great melody and title. It has a fascinating guitar solo in it. Jewel Thieves is a nice contemporary jazz piece. It features a smashing introduction and a great bass solo by Kim Stone. The background 'vocals' can get annoying. They should have taken that flaw out. Purple Haze is a good, short pice with an awesome electric guitar part featured throught the whole song. Good job at playing that piece by the master, Jimi Hendrix.

In all, this is a pretty good live album. Not all of the songs are spectacular, though. There are also some spontaneous announcements after particular tracks on here. Worth the purchase. Thank you for taking the time and generosity to read my review.

As live Rippingtons go, I still prefer "Live In L.A." over the latest release. Most of this album is pretty good but I could really do without the audience participation during "Jewel Thieves". And I have nothing against Jimi Hendrix but "Purple Haze" and "Fire" seem really out of place here. I would rather have had more Ripps to round this out.

Great item, great price, and fast delivery. They provided with followup emials on tracking number with delivery date, and the shipment was great.

Great CD! Probably the best live performance I've heard from the Rippingtons. I've seen their live shows probably a dozen times or more but this CD really shows their depth. Road Warriors is the entry track and really gets things going. This is the only time this track appears. We haven't found it on any other Rippingtons CD. There are a few live tracks they selected from the Black Diamond CD which was a surprise. They have a fantastic live version of "Welcome to the St James Club". Absolutely the best version of this song I have heard yet. I am a huge fan of the early Rippingtons material such as Tourist in Paradise, Welcome to the St James Club and Curves Ahead. These works anchored The Rippingtons and solidified them as Contemporary Jazz Artists. This live performance gets back to the roots of the Ripps.

If you are a Rippingtons fan or even if you are just looking for something different in the Contemporary or Fusion Jazz arena, this CD is a good one to have in your collection!

Enjoy!

I enjoyed this album very much. Great listeing, The Rippeingtons in concert, well recorded, high energy.

I had wanted this cd alongtime.
Paul Taylor is on here alot throughout which was a great asset.
Love the energy in this cd